Hydraulic transmission

ABSTRACT

A hydraulic transmission unit including, within a sealed, fluid filled container, a pair of shafts rotatably mounted in the container and extending therefrom, a conical male impeller on one of the shafts and a conical female turbine on the other shaft, the shafts being relatively shiftable axially away from an initial, substantially spaced apart position into a position wherein the impeller and the turbine are in closer proximity than in the initial position.

United States Patent [191 Cottrell HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSION [76] Inventor:Harold L. Cottrell, 4345 Brookie Ct., Columbus, Ohio [22] Filed: Sept.13, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 179,842

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 839,158, July 7,1969, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. 60/349, 60/350 [51] Int. Cl. F16h 41/04 [58] Field ofSearch 60/54, 330, 349, 60/350 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,395,047 2/l946 Hanson 60/54 [451 Aug. 14, 1973 2,544,7133/1951 Miller 60/54 3,209,874 10/1965 Foster et a] 60/54 X PrimaryExaminer-Edgar W. Geoghegan w Attorney-Schmidt, Johnson, Hovey 8!.Williams [5 7] ABSTRACT A hydraulic transmission unit including, withina sealed, fluid filled container, a pair of shafts rotatably mounted inthe container and extending therefrom, a conical male impeller on one ofthe shafts and a conical female turbine on the other shaft, the shaftsbeing relatively shiftable axially away from an initial, substantiallyspaced apart position into a position wherein the impeller and theturbine are in closer proximity than in the initial position.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 14, 1973 MM N..! w@ m L M J m00 H m mm M an. M f 2 w HYDRAULIC TRANSMISSION CROSS REFERENCES Thisapplication is a division of application Ser. No. 839,158, filed July 7,1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,613,366 granted Oct. 19, 1971 and entitledHydraulic Transmission.

The present invention relates to the hydraulic transmission of powerfrom a power source, such as a driving impeller, powered by an engine orthe like, to a power output shaft, the output shaft having a turbinecoupled therewith and disposed within the same fluid filled container asthe impeller.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide, within afluid filled container, a conical impeller and a conical turbine, eachbeing rotatably carried by a shaft extending from the container, theshafts being relatively shiftable whereby to move the impeller and theturbine from an initial position wherein the shafts are in axialalignment to various other positions wherein the impeller and theturbine are in axial alignment but in closer proximity than in theinitial position.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a fluid filledcontainer having a pair of shafts rotatably mounted therein andextending therefrom, one of the shafts carrying a conical impeller inthe nature of a male unit; the other shaft carrying a conical turbine inthe nature of a female unit, the male impeller being provided with vanesexteriorly thereof, the female turbine being provided with vanesinteriorly thereof and defining a cavity for receiving driving forcesfrom the fluid as it is agitated by the male impeller, which impellermay be shifted toward and away from the conical female turbine.

The disclosed invention utilizes conical drive units provided with vanesand the shiftable nature of the male unit with respect to the femaleunit permits variance of the forces developed between the two units andwithin the fluid filled container. This construction allows smooth'transmission of power from the impeller to the turbine, the variousdegrees of power being virtually unlimited and depending upon theproximity of the impeller and the turbine.

Thus an important object of the invention is to provide, in a hydraulictransmission, mechanism which affords an easy translation from low speedand power to optimum power and high speed with little if any waste oftime and motion or sudden uncontrolled surges of power.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingspecification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the hydraulic transmission, parts beingbroken away and in section to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, a sealed container 60 is provided which isfilled with a suitable fluid 62. A conical male impeller 64 ispositioned within the container 60 and is rotatably driven by a shaft 66which extends from the container 60 and is driven by a suitable sourceof external power (not shown). The conical impeller 64 is provided witha plurality of vanes 68 on the exterior thereof, said vanes being in thenature of serrated strips which extend from the base to the apex 72 ofthe conical impeller 64.

A conical female turbine 74 is also positioned within the container 60,said turbine 74 being carried by another shaft 76 which is rotatablymounted within the container 60 and extends therefrom.

The female conical turbine 74 is provided with an exterior wall 78, theouter surface of which is smooth, the inner surface thereof beingprovided with a pluraoity of vanes 80 in the nature of serrated stripswhich extend from the base end 82 of the turbine 74 to the apex 84thereof, said vanes serving to define a central cavity 86 which is of aconfiguration complementary to the exterior of conical impeller 64.Thus, the impeller 64 is in the nature ofa male unit and the turbine 74is in the nature ofa female unit, both of said units being of conicalconfiguration.

The shafts 66 and 76 are in initial axial alignment and are retained insaid alignment as the impeller 64 is shifted toward the turbine 74, suchshifting movement of the impeller 64 varying the forces which aretransmitted from the driving units through the fluid 62. The shiftingmovement of shaft 66 and thereby impeller 64 can be achieved by anysuitable control means, such shifting accomplishing a change in thespacing of th impeller 64 with respect to the turbine 74, the variancein distance altering the fluid thrust which is delivered to the turbine74 and thus varying the transmission of power therebetween and in thehydraulic transmission unit.

Thus, the conical configuration of the impeller and the turbine isutilized to maximize the efficiency of the hydraulic transmission unit,while the power flow therethrough is varied by the relative position ofthe impeller and turbine units whereby to achieve the maximum result.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hydraulic transmission:

a container adapted to be filled with fluid;

a pair of shafts rotatably mounted in the container and extendingtherefrom, said shafts being in axial alignment;

a conical male impeller in said container on one of said shafts; 4

a conical female turbine in the container on the other shaft, said oneshaft being shiftable with respect to the other shaft;

a plurality of vanes projecting outwardly from the surface of said maleimpeller, said vanes being in the form of a series of serrated stripsspaced around the exterior of the impeller and extending essentiallyfrom the base to the apex of said conical impeller; and

a plurality of vanes extending inwardly toward the center of saidconical female turbine, said vanes defining a central conical cavitycomplementary to the configuration of the male impeller, said vanesbeing in the form of a series of serrated strips spaced around theinterior of said cavity and extending essentially from the base to theapex of said conical cavity.

1. In a hydraulic transmission: a container adapted to be filled withfluid; a pair of shafts rotatably mounted in the container and extendingtherefrom, said shafts being in axial alignment; a conical male impellerin said container on one of said shafts; a conical female turbine in thecontainer on the other shaft, said one shaft being shiftable withrespect to the other shaft; a plurality of vanes projecting outwardlyfrom the surface of said male impeller, said vanes being in the form ofa series of serrated strips spaced around the exterior of the impellerand extending essentially from the base to the apex of said conicalimpeller; and a plurality of vanes extending inwardly toward the centerof said conical female turbine, said vanes defining a central conicalcavity complementary to the configuration of the male impeller, saidvanes being in the form of a series of serrated strips spaced around theinterior of said cavity and extending essentially from the base to theapex of said conical cavity.